This blog is a place for me to share my thoughts in the process of development. Since I tend to be all over the place in terms of my interests, these thoughts will roam from politics, to philosophy, to theological reflections, to books I am reading. I invite comments questions, challenges and general feedback.

Saturday, September 08, 2012

A Letter to My Doctor

A couple weeks ago I wrote the letter below to my primary
care doctor, Dr. Jason Chen, thanking him for taking an approach that was much
more humane and personable than most doctors I have known. Ironically, I read
this article while waiting for over four hours for a small operation. In that setting
I was treated a number on an assembly line – the exact opposite sort of treatment
for which I thank Dr. Chen. After receiving the letter and thanking me, Dr.
Chen asked that I publish the letter to get the word out about the need for
reform in the medical profession. Here follows my letter with some minor
amendments. I also encourage you to read the article for which a link is provided.

Dr. Chen,

I was reading an article in UTNE Reader the other day on the controversy around so-called alternative medicine, and thought
of you. While the efficacy of particular alternative treatments can be
questioned, the same could be said about traditional remedies. What stuck out
to me in the article was the importance of talking to one’s patients and taking
a preventive, proactive approach to healthcare, rather the approach of waiting
for symptoms and then prescribing medication – all approaches I have
experienced with you since our first meeting last fall.

I thought of you because in our first meeting, as the
article describes, you took over an hour to get to know me and my health
history, as well as my perceptions, feelings and hopes regarding health
care. In my case this approach, along
with your ongoing concern, has yielded dramatic results: 30 pounds lost weight,
lowered cholesterol and blood pressure, a return to a more active lifestyle and
general overall healthier outlook on life. There have been some medicines and
treatments along the way to my health recovery, but I don’t think any of that
would have had the same effect without your holistic concern for me as a
person.

This letter and article is my way of saying “THANK YOU” for
your concern. At our last appointment, you seemed rushed and even said
something about “working for the man” which suggested to me that you were
feeling the pressures of our current health care system. As mentioned by one
physician in the article: “The current system makes it nearly impossible for
most doctors to be the nurturing caregivers who take the time to listen to us,
bond with us, and guide us toward healthier lifestyles and lower levels of
stress.” I hope you can fight that pressure and live in the tension between
what you are sometimes required to do as part of the health system, and what
you know and have shown to be most effective – at least in my case.